Shangri LinguaHow to say “cheap” in Thai
ถูก
/tʰùːk/
ถูก means cheap, correct.
Pronunciation and usage
Tone: low
This word has two common meanings, cheap and correct. Context tells you which: ถูกไหม (tòok mái?) can be “is it cheap?” or “is that right?”.
Reading the romanization: the mark over a vowel shows its tone. bp and dt are a p and a t with no puff of air, while plain p, t and k have the puff. The IPA shows the exact sounds, and Learn the IPA explains how to read it.
Examples
- ของที่นี่ถูกมาก
kǒng têe nêe tòok mâak/kʰɔ̌ːŋ tʰîː nîː tʰùːk mâːk/
Things here are very cheap.
How it’s spelled
Thai is written in a fixed order, which isn’t always the order you hear. Here’s each letter of ถูก in the order you’d write it.
- ถ
“t” starts the word.
tho thung, from ถุง (sack)High class
An arch with a small loop inside the foot of the left leg. Compare ภ, whose loop is outside.
- ู
The vowel “long u”. Hangs below the consonant.
sara uu
Like sara u, with a loop added.
- ก
“k” ends the word.
ko kai, from ไก่ (chicken)Mid class
No loop at all: a beak at the top left and two legs. Compare ภ and ถ, which add a loop.
Why the tone is low
- It starts with ถ, which is high class.
- There’s no tone mark, so the kind of syllable decides.
- It ends in “k”, a sound that stops short, so the syllable is dead.
- High class and dead gives a low tone.
New to consonant classes and live or dead syllables? See how Thai tones work.
Learn to write it
The Shangri Lingua app teaches ถูก in its Thai writing course. You write the word one letter at a time, with your finger or Apple Pencil, and the app checks each letter and gives you more help if you get stuck. Get it on the App Store.
More shopping and money
Browse all Thai vocabulary.